Funny thing is I tried 475 today. Right when I got it off the rack the entire bar fell right on my chest. Surprisingly it didnt hurt. Was a bit of a surprise but I was left unscathed Thank G-d I didnt break my sternum or ribs.

Congrats on the new bench press record! Glad you didn't break yourself.

You are too modest, though I guess that is a good quality. We are about the same bodyweight and I am exactly half your strength on most exercises! Check out the Vegan Strength Table on Veganfitness http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2438&start=0 There are big guys there, even a pro bodybuilder and your bench far surpasses any of them!

Thanks a lot for the kind words bro. You should make an online training journal here mate, it would be great to see how you are doing and you know a lot there is to bodybuilding. Also if I am stronger in some aspects than you, I bet you can beat me in some too. For example I rarely squat and I never do deadlifts, so I bet you can easily surpass me in those mate. Thanks for that site, those dudes have good lifts, but I am still heavier than them so the bench over them really doesnt count

I will consider moving it over here or just start double posting. My hips have been f'ed up lately, so haven't been squatting and minimal deadlifting. My training has started to move more to a bodybuilding style with lighter weights and higher reps.

I will be off line until early next week. My company is moving starting this afternoon and I do all my posting from work. May check in on my slow dialup from home if I have time. I'll start up a journal with next weeks workouts!

I just skimmed through it really quick and all I can say is YOUR LEGS ARE STRONG! That deadlift at 365 sounds crazy. Too bad you already started your journal there....hope to read it here like you said

WHat happened to your hips (better yet Tensor Fascaie Latae )? Also the bodybuilding approach is good too. Light weights gives a crazy burn, and make you super exhausted. Good luck on that. You might already know this but start with a 12 to 15 rep range for first set. Last set about 8. Each last set should be hard. This will recruite the lower threshold fibers first, and at the end both that and the higher threshold. This induces muscle growth, whereas 6 and lower just higher threshold fibers are recruited and strength is done neuralogically.

As for work, its gonna be sad not seeing ya post, but I can wait. Keep up the good work in the gym and dont over do it Cant wait to see your journal. Take care and thanks for helping!

kollision wrote:I just skimmed through it really quick and all I can say is YOUR LEGS ARE STRONG! That deadlift at 365 sounds crazy. Too bad you already started your journal there....hope to read it here like you said

That was an old post, my current best on the dead is 435! And, yes it is heavy! I have squatted 345 to full parallel.

I have a lovely condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is a form of arthritis that mostly affects the lower joints and lower back, but can also attack the heart and eyes. At it's worst the spinal discs start to fuse together. I have the most trouble with my hips, overnight I can go from powerlifter to crippled and barely abled to walk. I also have a really wide squat stance when I get to the heavy weights, so I am skipping the squats for a few weeks to give the hips a rest!

kollision wrote:As for work, its gonna be sad not seeing ya post, but I can wait. Keep up the good work in the gym and dont over do it Cant wait to see your journal. Take care and thanks for helping!

Don'g worry K, I have been reading Rob's site for years, I'm not going anywhere. I am pretty excited about this new forum. I like the format I have gotten to know on vegan fitness, but this site has a certain style that only Rob can give. I want to make sure it is a great success.

I have a lovely condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis. It is a form of arthritis that mostly affects the lower joints and lower back, but can also attack the heart and eyes. Sad At it's worst the spinal discs start to fuse together. I have the most trouble with my hips, overnight I can go from powerlifter to crippled and barely abled to walk. I also have a really wide squat stance when I get to the heavy weights, so I am skipping the squats for a few weeks to give the hips a rest!

Sorry to hear that you have this, there are more people that should have this and not you! Did you have this before you became vegan? Seems like you have a good approach though.

Don'g worry K, I have been reading Rob's site for years, I'm not going anywhere. I am pretty excited about this new forum. I like the format I have gotten to know on vegan fitness, but this site has a certain style that only Rob can give. Cool I want to make sure it is a great success.

Ok good because it would be a lost for this forum if you left. Good to see that you have been here this long, thanks.

I'm glad to have you guys here! It makes everything more motivating for me!

Lots of work has been put into this whole site and during that time I've traveled to over 30 countries, and spent considerable amount of time away from the US and away from the internet but we kept everything going. I've suffered through a few back injuries, ironically both coming weeks before competitions which I placed 4th and 1st in, and I'm happy that we have this new Forum up with a format that makes everyone happy.

My website guy Khan, may be moving away soon, so some Main Page updates may be delayed a bit, but he did a great job keeping the site running while I was off in Russia, Germany and other places.

Kollision, great job on the 475 mate!!!!!!!!!!! You are a tough, solid, strong beast of a vegan strength athlete!

Hey Kollision, how are you buddy? I've got a question for you. I know for your bench press you are doing a lot of one-rep sets, getting new max lifts. When you train other muscle groups what is your typical rep range? I know you've mentioned it before, I'm just wondering if you are purposely treating the chest a lot differently than your other muscle groups?

Biceps are your favorite to train right?

My favorite are Legs and Back, but Every muscle group has been my favorite at one time or another, but usually it is chest or back.

robert wrote:Hey Kollision, how are you buddy? I've got a question for you. I know for your bench press you are doing a lot of one-rep sets, getting new max lifts. When you train other muscle groups what is your typical rep range? I know you've mentioned it before, I'm just wondering if you are purposely treating the chest a lot differently than your other muscle groups?

Biceps are your favorite to train right?

My favorite are Legs and Back, but Every muscle group has been my favorite at one time or another, but usually it is chest or back.

I'm also starting to really like arms again

Have a great training weekend!

THanks for the kind words in this post and the other one mate. Im doin good. I dont do 1 rep max though, I do prolly three reps and I get spotted so it helps with it. For example when I did 475 I had three people spotting and I did it three times thanks to their help. I dont really like doing for one reps. I do Muscle Hypertrophy reps. Meaning I go from 12 reps to around 8 reps for the last set. However when I do try heavy weights I try to at least do more than 3 reps.

I dont treat the chest any better than my other body parts, like the biceps how I do 2 to 3 reps with 120. They are my fav and you still remember

I really like to do legs however I am very limited to what I can do. For example squats causes cuts on my traps and many times it affects my lower back oddly, even with just plates. Probably my position is wrong with the exercise. Also with lunges, it causes a sharp pain through my penis oddly. It feels like its constricting or something is going through it. I dont know why but it does. It never did before even at 70 lb dumbbells.

Thanks for the update, yeah I'll post my training journal soon. Trained back last night but didn't warm up much like usual because I was watching the Suns basketball game at the same time. So now my lower back is a little sore on the right side.

Normally I do a long warm-up but I was really into the game so I just did a bunch of exercises that were near the TV screen (lat pull-downs and things like that) so I just tweaked it a bit. I'm sure it will be better in a day or two.

Have a nice weekend, I'm heading off to work now.....gotta love waking up early everyday!

squats will always exercise your lower back extensively. this is even more true the taller you are. i should think that if you can do very heavy squats that you could deadlift pretty heavy too (as you dont do them right?).
i suggest trying the occasional deadlift session - you will get hurt all over for days after!

jonathan wrote:squats will always exercise your lower back extensively. this is even more true the taller you are. i should think that if you can do very heavy squats that you could deadlift pretty heavy too (as you dont do them right?).i suggest trying the occasional deadlift session - you will get hurt all over for days after!

good work with the monster benching!

jonathan

THanks a lot Jonathan. I have stopped doing squates because my back gets a lot of cuts (not defnition, cuts as in scratches) ! I still have scars for over a month ago of squats. THanks for the kind words mate.